[guytoronto]

thats what I though, another cash grab by the government.

Yes, and our health care system has money to burn. Burn I tell you!

Or, it could be a security issue, with the old cards lending themselves to fraud.

 

[guytoronto]

It's all about the identity of the cardholder. Pretty soon most credit cards will have pictures on them too

Unless you're a Hutterite in Alberta.

I don't think you have to pay for them. I don't recall having to pay for mine.

I don't see anything on OHIP's website about paying for renewal.
http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/pub/ohip/renew.html

Although that doesn't mean they won't hit you up at the office.

 

[guytoronto]

As I understand it, the only people who can ask to see your Health Card are health service providers (i.e. your doctor, hospital, clinic, etc).

Your Health Card SHOULD only be used for medical services, but most places will accept it to confirm your identity and age. My wife uses hers all the time for that purpose since she doesn't have a driver's license.

 

[guytoronto]

Lars, the point of not having one is that I hate to drive. Besides, I've driven illegally before and if an emergency arose, I'd drive again. Few cops would ticket you if it were an emergency. Also, it costs money to have one, non? Don't you have to renew it every 5 years?
I'll stick with my HC thanks.

Yikes! Not to derail this thread, but with that attitude, I would hope the cops would come down hard on you. Hate to drive, but drive illegal when needed? Don't want to spend money on a driver's license? Just what we need - uninsured, untrained drivers on the road. Do us all favour and get a driver's license. Or stay off the roads completely, emergency or not.

 

[guytoronto]

From an ID perspective, there are other alternatives:
LCBO Social Responsibility
The BYID card is only valid for those 19-35 (lame - old people don't drink?)
Also, my wife has one of these, and about half of of the places she's presented it don't even know what it is. One place even refused to serve her because they didn't know about it. The card is "solely for the purpose of purchasing beverage alcohol in Ontario"

Also:
CIC Canada | Application for a Citizenship Certificate from Inside Canada
Canadian Citizenship Card (want to get one of these personally) <- there not just for immigrants ya know.

Passport Canada: Applying for a passport
Canadian Passport

Always good to have multiple ID. Especially good if you leave some locked up at home, and your wallet gets lost or stolen. There is nothing harder than trying to prove you are who you are when you have NO ID at all.